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Paramount: Star Trek's development prolonged to coincide with Into Darkness
Star Trek has been in development for about three years at this point, which is a "huge amount of time when you're talking about a movie game," Paramount Pictures Senior Vice President Brian Miller told us during a GDC-adjacent demonstration of the game earlier this week."Most movie games that we've ever worked on, and I would say most people ever work on, you're lucky to get twelve months," Miller said. "You're in the middle of production on a movie, you're trying to hit a target date of when the movie comes out, all the assets aren't in there, so you wind up having to rush things through."In Star Trek's case, however, the situation was reversed – development on the game was extended by a full year in order to coincide with the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, the franchise's latest theatrical romp."This game was going to come out at a different time," Miller said. "We didn't know when the next movie was going to be, we didn't know if it was going to be holiday, we didn't know if it was going to be summer, and we were just striving for it to make a game. Then when they all started lining up, it was like 'Okay, the movie is going to be here, let's give ourselves a little more development time to make sure they line up and come together.'"An entire extra year may seem like more than "a little more development time," but that's the sort of call you get to make when you're Paramount. Miller told us that while interaction between Paramount, developer Digital Extremes and writer Marianne Krawczyk was an "amazing collaborative back-and-forth," Paramount's wishes are still, well, paramount.
Namco Bandai co-publishing Star Trek in Q1 2013
The co-op-centric Star Trek title unveiled at last year's E3 has found itself a publisher. Namco Bandai will be "co-publishing" and distributing the Digital Extremes-developed space romp alongside Paramount Digital Entertainment sometime during the first quarter of 2013.The Q1 2013 window puts this immediately before the May 17 theatrical release of the next Abrams Trek film -- marketing synergy that may explain the game's quiet delay from its original 2012 release window. We like Abrams' take on the Trek universe just fine, but we can't help but wish for someone to throw this much money at remaking Star Trek 25th Anniversary for the NES.%Gallery-147059%
War of the Worlds screens class up the joint
We were pretty eager to take a look at War of the Worlds, this fall's XBLA and PSN release from Paramount based on H.G. Wells' classic novel. For starters, we love Other Ocean's DSiWare action platformer Dark Void Zero, but there's also our affection for rotoscoping and Patrick Stewart narration to consider. What we ended up seeing at E3 was frankly a little underwhelming. The presentation, moody and bleak, was top-flight but it seemed shallow from a gameplay perspective. The thrust of the 2D game is almost exclusively evasion, with the hero -- a British survivor of the Martian attack -- running from spotlights and lasers, ducking into ravines and tunnels to avoid detection. We saw this basic beat repeated some four or five times in a 20-minute demo, which left the game feeling droningly one-note. Other Ocean hinted that the hero we saw would eventually find a way to "turn the tables" on the Martians, so we're hopeful that'll help flesh things out a bit. What there's no debate about is the sartorial acumen of the game's protagonist. A turtleneck and a blazer? As if Duke Nukem needed yet another reason to be embarrassed, now the poor guy has to be self-conscious about his tank top. %Gallery-126292%
Star Trek co-op game sets phasers for 2012
Set mouses to "click" for larger picture Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced a brand new Star Trek title starring Kirk and Spock as envisioned in J. J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film. Titled simply Star Trek, the game is under development at Digital Extremes (BioShock 2, Darkness 2) and takes place after the film, tasking Kirk and Spock with taking down "a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy." The story is being handled by God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk along with the film's writers Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The development team is "working closely" with Abrams' Bad Robot production company and producer Damon Lindelof, with Paramount promising co-op and "AAA production values, a wide variety of gameplay and all the action you would expect from the hit franchise." Star Trek is slated to materialize on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2012. It will also be on display at E3 next week, and you can bet your space boots we'll be beaming down.
Days of Thunder: Arcade rolls into rare Friday finish on XBLA
So, the Days of Thunder game missed the movie's 20th anniversary thing last year -- was it a thing? -- but there was still one last, sort of deadline for the Xbox Live Arcade version to hit. In late October, when Paramount Digitial Entertainment was still racing to get the game out for the anniversary, a representative told us that both the PSN-exlcusive "NASCAR Edition" and the vanilla Arcade version would be released "around the same time" (whenever that would be). On Tuesday, the NASCAR Edition finally rolled onto PSN, but then Wednesday came and went, with only one Blitz on XBLA. But Days of Thunder is all about drama, right? A thrilling finish! And so, here we are, a Friday of all days, and there's a brand-new XBLA game available for $10 (800 points). It's like ... it's like Microsoft didn't want an univited guest in its House Party.
Days of Thunder: NOTNASCAR Edition coming to XBLA 'this winter'
We feel you. You've been waiting all year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the formative "romantic drama" Days of Thunder. Well, hang tight, your opportunity is coming -- just maybe not before 2011: Paramount Digital Entertainment and Piranha Games today assured patient fans that Days of Thunder: Arcade will be released on Xbox Live Arcade "this winter" (which means it could show up on a late-December Wednesday, or it would otherwise debut in early 2011). Days of Thunder: Arcade is, naturally, an arcade-style romantic drama -- er, make that: racing game. Under the guidance of Rowdy Roddy Burns (was that the name?), players compete in an unlicensed racing circuit, careful to watch for "reckless, aggressive driving" by the movie's star, Cole Trickle, who is not voiced by Mr. Cruise in the game. The PS3-exclusive licensed version, Days of Thunder: NASCAR Edition, adds a bit more authenticity to the "pedal-to-the-metal, adrenaline-fueled arcade racing" with the likes of modern day wheelmen Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, among others. Earlier this month, NASCAR Edition was dated for release on PSN this fall -- that's right, in time for the anniversary! We figured we'd save the best news for last. You're welcome. Update: Uh-oh. A representative for the game informs us: "NASCAR Edition for PSN is now scheduled for a winter release date, as well." But there's hope! "Both games will be releasing around the same time and should be within the next couple of months (Nov./Dec.). However, we are still waiting on an official date." As for the PC/Mac Arcade version expected to be released via Steam? "At the moment, the PC/Mac version is still TBD as far as release date."
Top Gun locks onto Aug. 17 PSN release
Paramount has announced that Iceman, Maverick and the gang will hit the PlayStation 3 in two weeks. While the PSN version of Top Gun is set to be released on August 17, the PC and Mac versions of the game remain without a solid release date for the time being. The game features a single-player campaign written by Jack Epps Jr., screenwriter of the original film, as well as multiplayer for up to 16 players. None of that is important though, because Paramount has licensed "Danger Zone" for the soundtrack, and that's all that really matters.
Preview: Top Gun and Days of Thunder: NASCAR Edition
Let's get this out of the way: I've never seen Top Gun nor Days of Thunder. I know, I know -- I'll turn my Man Card in at the door. The point I'm trying to make is: If there are in-jokes or sly references in either game, I wouldn't notice. That said, Paramount Digital has recruited Jack Epps Jr., screenwriter of both films, so the company certainly seems serious about fan service. Setting aside their cultural significance -- emphasis on "cult" -- what I saw were two simple, playable arcade experiences. %Gallery-96036%
Top Gun takes PSN, Mac and PC to the danger zone this summer
Click image to buzz our gallery Paramount has announced a new Top Gun game in development at doublesix, ready to assault PSN, Mac and Windows PC this summer. Described as "a free-flying air combat shooter," the press release promises "large-scale dogfight battles" as players jump into pilot Maverick's F-14, following his journey from Top Gun Academy to the Indian Ocean. Top Gun won't be a strictly solo affair, either -- five multiplayer modes, supporting up to 16 players online, will also be included. Screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. will return to the Top Gun world, expanding on the film's events through the game. "With Jack Epps, Jr. on board, we're excited to deliver a new Top Gun arcade experience that holds true to the popular film," said John Kavanagh, VP of games at Paramount. Sounds fine by us, but we swear, Mr. Epps, if you don't fit the volleyball scene into the game somewhere, we're probably going to write you a tersely-worded letter explaining our disappointment. %Gallery-93409%
Hands-on: Days of Thunder (XBLA/PSN)
click to enlarge Paramount Digital Entertainment and Piranha Games are bringing Days of Thunder to the Xbox 360 and PS3 this summer and it has a major actor attached. It's not Tom Cruise, Cary Elwes, Robert Duval, Randy Quaid or even John C. Reilly from the film of the same name, though. Nope, it's Michael Rooker? "Who?," you might be asking? Remember the guy who got stinkpalmed in Mallrats? Yes, that's him. Rowdy Burns himself. He'll play your crew chief in this downloadable title, until he gets back in a race car and challenges you on the track. Days of Thunder plays like an extremely scaled down version of EA's NASCAR series, meaning you hold down the accelerator and rarely use the brake. You can draft other cars to "Drop the Hammer" and slingshot around them and spend points on one of four categories to improve the three different car types. Update: Paramount has contacted us and asked us to remove the gameplay video, because more impressive material is in the works! Does that sound believable? And will NASCAR throw their weight behind this game? It was announced at an official NASCAR event, and the movie is NASCAR themed to the gills, but who knows. That license isn't EA exclusive anymore. Check out screenshots and photos from the first-look event below, then read more details after the break. %Gallery-84446% %Gallery-84447%
Paramount and Kingston team up for movies on flash memory
Movies delivered on memory cards isn't an entirely new development (Sony did it back in the early days of the PSP), but it looks like Paramount and Kingston think the idea is prime for a comeback, and have today announced a partnership that'll see some of the studio's movies delivered on SD cards and USB drives. That gets started with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a (presumably reusable) 4GB Kingston DataTraveler I USB drive that's available right now for $29.99, and will apparently continue with additional movies offered across Kingston's full line of memory cards and USB drives, although both parties are staying mum on any further specifics. There's also no word from any other studios or memory companies just yet, but we can only presume this means slotMovies are right around the corner.
Star Trek D-A-Cs up on PS3 and PC this November
Transported away from its "late this summer" release window, Star Trek D-A-C – the mediocre movie cash-in tie-in – will finally tribble the PS3 (via PlayStation Network) and the PC (via Steam) with its presence this November. As previously noted, the latest edition of the top-down pew-pew fest will add new ship classes, game modes, maps and pick-ups. If you need a better idea of what this game is like, we suggest taking a look at our very polite XBLA in Brief on the title. %Gallery-49012%
Go Grease Lightning (to the Wii and DS)
Listen up, musical theater majors! Your time of reckoning approaches. Sure, your friends can easily best you at Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4 -- but in a short while, a title which will finally allow you to invoke your unique skill set will hit store shelves. We speak, of course, of Grease. The movie. The video game. For Wii and DS.505 Games recently picked up the rights to adapt the musical film in conjunction with Paramount Digital Entertainment. The game will put players in the gaudy, unfortunate shoes of one of Sandy or Danny's cronies, forcing them to sing and dance using motion controls, microphones or the DS touch screen. Further gameplay details or a release date for Grease are currently unknown. C'mon, 505! Tell us more! Tell us more!
The Warriors: Street Brawl trailer is how not to do a trailer
Very few things tick off the happy-go-lucky team at Joystiq, but when you send us a new trailer for The Warriors: Street Brawl that doesn't have one iota of gameplay footage, nor one single second of anything from the game, then we have an issue with it. We guess we just expect too much these days, spoiled from the 95% of the industry that does game trailers right. Come on, the game announcement had more in it than this! How do you expect to drum up interest and get gamers to come out and play-ay when all you give us is this?
Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP
Gazillion Entertainment have announced that their expansion into the MMO market continues with hiring Stuart Moulder as their new Vice President of Studios, with responsibility for game development across all of their studios. Gazillion recently announced that they had purchased Netdevil, who are developing Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe. They also announced that they are developing two games based on the Marvel superhero licence.Moulder has most recently worked as Senior Vice President at Screenlife where he was responsible for bringing the Scene It? license to games as helping with the sale of the company to Paramount Digital. He also spent eight years at Microsoft where he was responsible for acquiring and managing companies such as Halo developer Bungie, Age of Empires and Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and veteran developers FASA of Mechwarrior and Shadowrun fame, although since he has left Microsoft we have seen Ensemble Studios and FASA shut down and Bungie has become independent.
New 'The Warriors' game headed to XBLA this summer
Paramount Digital Entertainment has just announced a new Xbox Live Arcade game based on The Warriors, planned for release this summer. The brawler is part of a 30th anniversary celebration that will include a new comic book series and "other products and entertainment". The new game will feature, of course, the movie's trademark gangs, fighting each other. However, don't expect a sequel to the acclaimed 2005 Warriors game by Rockstar -- this game is being made by developer CTXM and not Rockstar Games. Check out the trailer after the break! Oh, and "Warriors, come out to play-ay!" Just because it's important to work that into every post about The Warriors.
Paramount is completely Clueless
The list of things the DS needs is getting shorter all the time. Sure, we could all do with attack lasers, or our own printers (for money), but these are just needless luxuries. DS fans are pretty well set up. But even if there was a long list, the longest of lists, of possible games and ideas for the DS, a game based on the movie Clueless wouldn't be anywhere near the list. They wouldn't even be on the same continent. But this isn't a question of good ideas and bad ideas. As if. It's a question of easy money shovelware "expanding the core casual gaming audience," and what better way to do that than to release a game based on a movie that's more than a decade old? It's brilliant, as is the game, which charges players with matching up potential love interests based on totally important factors, like their clothing.Clueless, from Paramount Digital Entertainment, is slated for the DS -- and the PC -- late this year, along with PC titles based on Pretty in Pink and Mean Girls.
